With the signing of a global partnership agreement on March 30th, WWF and Rabobank have joined forces to accelerate the transition to a more sustainable economy – one within the bounds of the planet's ecological limits.
A more sustainable finance sector

As part of the partnership, Rabobank and WWF will show how the financial sector can be transformed, and prompt businesses to invest in more sustainable business practices.

The partnership is specifically aimed at the international food and agribusiness sectors, with goals of increasing production efficiency and reducing CO2 emissions and water consumption.

WWF and Rabobank will set up projects that will demonstrate that sustainable enterprise genuinely produces added economic value for both the environment and local populations, and for companies and financiers active within food and agricultural chains in sectors such as sugarcane, cacao and fisheries.

In addition, both partners aim to raise awareness among consumers about how they can contribute to a green economy by opting for sustainable financial products and services.

Striving for sustainability

Rabobank Executive Board Chairman Piet Moerland: "The WWF and Rabobank both strive to achieve a sustainable environment. We have already demonstrated this shared commitment through our joint participation in the Dutch Greentech Fund, through which we make equity investments in green innovative companies, and via the sounding board role the WWF performed in relation to the formulation of Rabobank’s Food & Agribusiness principles."

"This partnership between a financial institution and an NGO, with the aim of setting an example for other participants in the production chain with respect to the concrete effects of sustainable enterprise in practice, is unique."

Johan van de Gronden, Director of the WWF in the Netherlands: "Protecting nature reserves is today inextricably linked to human behaviour. Our choices as consumers determine the chances of survival of threatened ecosystems, which are in turn crucial for life on earth."

"Nature conservation consequently only works by establishing that connection and by ensuring the sustainability of the entire chain from raw material to plate. This is why having a partner such as Rabobank is invaluable for WWF."